It is generally known that in certain hydraulic pump installations, particularly when the pump drive shaft is oriented vertically and positioned to project above the pump housing, hydraulic fluid may be caused to leak from within the pump housing and at the pump mounting over periods of prolonged pump operation. In many cases the quantity of leaked hydraulic fluid is large and the external area of accumulated fluid leakage is substantial. Attempts to solve the problem by designing and providing totally leak-free pump shaft seals have not been entirely successful.
We have discovered that the shortcoming of known shaft seals in such hydraulic pump installations can be overcome by utilizing an approach wherein fluid leaked past an installed shaft seal is recovered and reused within the hydraulic pump system servo-control loop rather than being allowed to escape from within the pump housing in the zone of the pump mounting.
Also, other objects and advantages of the novel reclamation system of the present invention will become apparent from a careful consideration of the descriptions, drawings, and claims which follow.